Thursday, May 1, 2008

Things to Watch for in May

May used to be the beginning of a prolonged down time for college sports fans. Basketball and football were over, college baseball was coming to an end, the only thing really going on is the MLB. Today, that is no longer the case. May should be a very busy month for Gonzaga sports fans as recruiting is heating up in basketball and the baseball team is closing out a very successful season. Here are a few things to watch for as summer rolls around.

1. Late 2008 basketball recruiting- After missing on Jeff Taylor and transfer Taylor King, the Zags hope to pick up at least one more impact recruit to add to their already impressive2008 class Speculations and rumors are all abound. Recently, 6'8'' Serbian LukaBasta visited Spokane and toured the campus. He is currently 18 and if he came here he would be a 2008 recruit. However, rumors have recently picked up that Bol Kong(right) could be the missing piece of the 2008 class. His former coach was recently hired at Idaho and claimed that he had been hearing Gonzaga as Kong's potential landing spot. Kong was a transplant from Sudan and now lives in Canada. He has struggled to get a Visa to play in America but if the reports are correct, that is the only thing separating him from Spokane.2. 2009 Recruiting Developments- To be honest, Gonzaga is due for some good news recruiting wise. After just losing Brock Osweiler to ASU last night, it seems that Mark Few needs to make a push right away. With the departure of Osweiler, there is an obviously hole to fill at the power forward/center position. However, Gonzaga does not seem to be following any big banger that passionately right now. Rather, the Zags are focusing on guards such as Anthony Marshall, Jeff Reid, and Marshall Henderson. Being a betting man, I would assume that the obvious choice in this situation would be Henderson. He claims Gonzaga is one of his dream schools and has a Grant Gibbs feel about him in that both are obsessed with the school. He would also fill a big void because he is a lights out shooter who averages nearly 24 points a game and can really light it up from 3 point land. The only consistent shooter GU will have on the roster next year will be Steven Gray. Anthony Marshall will probably wait a little while longer as it seems that his stock is about to blow up. Reid (left) is also interesting because he has only been offered by Kansas State but Gonzaga has been watching him heavily and he has visited the campus so he could be a sleeper commit. These three appear to be brightest on Gonzaga's radar right now. But only time will tell.3. Gonzaga Baseball Season Coming to an End- Fresh off their two game sweep of two-time champ Oregon State, Gonzaga baseball hopes to finish up their season strong. They have a three game series with San Francisco, then a match-up with Lewis and Clark College, followed by a game against heated rival Washington State. The bulldogs finally finish up their season at Loyola Marymount with a three game series finishing on May 18th. The Bulldogs hope to carry their momentum into the WCC championship and potentially earn a NCAA tournament bid. They lost last year in the WCC finals to perennial power San Diego. USD and Pepperdine are both very strong this year but Gonzaga has the defense and pitching to give either team a solid run.Other stories of note include Jeremy Pargo and whether or not he will continue to pursue the NBA draft. We will also be watching the Crew teams as their seasons wrap up.